Oppenheimer star Cillian Murphy reveals that there was a particularly impactful note from Christopher Nolan that remains his favorite piece of direction of all time. Released in 2023, Nolan’s biopic of J. Robert Oppenheimer marked the latest in a long line of collaborations between the actor and director.
Oppenheimer‘s glowing reviews helped the film to perform at the Academy Awards in 2024. Out of 13 nominations, the historical drama won seven Oscars, including Best Director and Best Picture. Murphy also won his first Oscar for Best Actor.
During a recent interview with Jake’s Takes, Murphy revealed that Nolan gave him one subtle yet powerful piece of direction that helped him to truly unlock Oppenheimer as a character. According to the actor, he was playing one scene a bit aggressively, prompting Nolan to say: “He’s not a boxer. He’s a chess player.” Check out Murphy’s full recollection of the moment below:
“I’ve made six films with Chris, and he’s a generational director. We all know that. One of the greatest directors ever. And I remember very early on, when I was playing Oppenheimer, I came in a bit heavy with one of the takes. And he said to me: ‘He’s not a boxer. He’s a chess player.’
“He just whispered that in my ear just before the next take, and it just changed the whole thing. And he hadn’t said anything up until that point, and then he said that, and it just clarified everything and everything became clear. It just changed the whole way I approached the take. He’s so gifted, it’s outrageous.”
Oppenheimer Was A Success On Every Level
Oppenheimer secured Murphy his first ever Oscar nomination and win, but the film also marks Nolan’s only win. Nolan was previously nominated across several categories for films like Memento (2000), Inception (2010), and Dunkirk (2017), and his stature as a filmmaker only continued to rise throughout this time.
On Rotten Tomatoes, Oppenheimer enjoys a 93% score from critics and a 91% from audiences. The film also grossed $975 million worldwide, a remarkable feat for a three-hour, R-rated historical drama. The film was widely hailed as Nolan’s masterpiece, but the director’s next project, an adaptation of Homer’s The Odyssey, has the potential to be even bigger.
The Odyssey‘s sprawling cast includes the likes of Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, and Charlize Theron, among a host of others, but Murphy is not among them. Murphy’s projects after leading the Oppenheimer cast were far smaller, including movies like Small Things Like These (2024) and, most recently, Steve (2025).
Will There Be Another Nolan & Murphy Collaboration After Oppenheimer?
As Murphy notes, he’s now made six movies with Nolan. Clearly, the pair have a strong creative relationship. After playing small but memorable roles in The Dark Knight (2008) and Inception (2010), among other titles, Oppenheimer marked the first time Murphy was given the chance to lead, and it obviously paid off in a major way.
It’s presently unclear what Nolan will tackle after The Odyssey. That film isn’t hitting theaters until July 2026, so it could be some time before the director’s future takes shape. Given their history, though, and Nolan’s continued collaboration with many of the same actors, it seems likely that Oppenheimer won’t be his last film with Murphy.
- Release Date
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July 21, 2023
- Runtime
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150 Minutes